PANAJI: Stating that there should not be any panic among Goan beef eaters as well as members of the tourism and hospitality industry due to the beef-related wild statements coming from various quarters, Minister for Law and Judiciary Francis D’Souza on Monday said that the government will go as per the existing legislations and allow slaughter of cattle as well as import of beef from other states to ensure adequate supply of beef.
Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times,’ D’Souza said that strictly following the anti-cow slaughter legislation existing in the country, Goa too disallows killing of cows for meat. “Furthermore, it should be understood that the recent notification of the Centre to ban the sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter has been issued so that there should not be slaughter of cattle in open spaces, but in the slaughterhouses in a scientific and hygienic manner,” he said.
“In fact, the National Green Tribunal has already mentioned that there cannot be slaughter of animals in any state, unless and until it is carried out in an abattoir, and Goa already has slaughterhouse in the form of Goa Meat Complex,” the Minister for Law and Judiciary informed, mentioning that in 2014, the animal right activists had approached the Supreme Court requesting the apex court to formulate rules for slaughtering animals, and the recent notification of the Centre is an outcome of this case, for regulating slaughtering of animals including cattle, goats, sheep and so on.
Speaking further, D’Souza, one of the two Catholic ministers in the state government, belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party stated that few individuals are making use of their right to freedom of speech in any way they can. “Therefore, the people should ignore such beef-related statement and only focus on the decisions of the government,” he said.
It may be recalled that Sadhvi Saraswati, who recently speaking at the All India Hindu Convention, in Ponda taluka, had stated that those involved in beef consumption should be hanged.
D’Souza also said that the government is fully aware of the beef eating population existing in Goa as well as the demand for beef dishes from visiting tourists. “Therefore, the government will ensure that beef would be made available in adequate quantity, by strictly following all the existing legislations, as already clarified by the Chief Minister,” he concluded.